The Price of Trust
by skye-hunter
Summary: “I want to make it very clear, Agent Mercer,” Erin Strauss said almost blankly, “I don’t think you’re qualified for this transfer..." When a new agent joins the BAU everyone wonders how he'll fit in...Assuming he does at all... Rating a precaution.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: First, while the original character is "mine" as much as a fictional being can be (and I thought of the case myself) nothing else in the story is. This is my first attempts at a Criminal Minds based fan-fiction piece and it's self-beta'd so, please, be kind! ...This is really just the start of a fanfiction piece I'm working on. If there's interest in the piece (both from myself and others) and posting it goes well I'll continue it, haha!

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_"Trust is trusting someone without knowing that you can." ~ Anonymous_

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"I want to make it very clear, Agent Mercer," Erin Strauss said almost blankly, "I don't think you're qualified for this transfer. You haven't paid your dues yet. But, as it were, there's a spot open and I'd rather it be filled by a man who doesn't hero-worship anyone in the team."

"You mean someone who doesn't hero-worship SSA Hotchner or Rossi," SSA Logan Mercer corrected with an even tone. "You picked me because 'disregard for authority' and 'disobeys orders' is sprinkled throughout my file like confetti and you think I'm the perfect candidate to throw them off their game…that way you have a more legitimate reason to pull at least one of them off the team and rebuild the BAU how you see fit."

Strauss stared at the junior agent not sure if she should confess or deny. She settled on a third option, avoidance via insult. "As far as I can tell you're just dumb muscle."

"Well, lady, you can kiss my dumb muscle." He didn't wait to be dismissed, he just left. What Strauss seemed to forget, or failed to realize, was that she was just the type of authority that Logan had issues with. Those that tried to run agent while having never actually been in the field themselves, the ones that thought they knew better simply because their rank was higher. Those types drove Logan up the wall and, generally, drove him to either ignore or actively disobey orders. He knew better. He'd been in the field. He had experience. He had paid his dues, not her.

Logan grabbed the elevator door just before it closed and ran his fingers through his hair. It was still long. When he ran his own team in the violent crimes division he found it helped him to fit in better on the streets. No one expected the slight built guy with greasy long haired to be a Fed. He missed his team. He hadn't wanted this transfer but his superior put him in for thinking he'd be a good fit…Logan couldn't blame him, the guy thought he was doing Logan a favor. The BAU was elite. A step up in the bureau. But it required concessions that Logan wasn't yet willing to make, like leaving his own team and giving up his authority as team leader…Giving up his control.

In attempts to look more professional he'd opted to wear a suit and tie but now, looking at himself in the reflection of the glass covering a painting in the hall as he stepped off the elevator, he reminded himself more of a mob hitman. He fixed his tie a bit and sighed before pushing on through the glass doors of the BAU and into the bullpen. Not many looked up to note him and so he pressed on…through the bullpen, up the stairs, and past a door or two until he reached the one that was marked "Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner". He knocked even as he entered.

Hotch glanced up from his file preparing to give permission for entry only to see a young agent already inside his office. The senior agent's eyes widened just a touch before narrowing to show his displeasure at the intrusion. "Come in," he stated even though it were completely unnecessary now…at least, for practical reasons it wasn't needed. To establish his dominance, reclaim the office as his, and let this new being know that entrance without permission was not to be accepted, Hotch's verbal statement was absolutely required.

"Special Agent Logan Mercer reporting for duty, sir." Logan stated simply as his eyes scanned his new boss's office trying to get a read on the man outside SSA Hotchner's need to stake his territory.

"Papers," Hotch requested firmly, not letting up the business-formal tone yet. Logan handed them over as he waited for permission to sit. Permission he never got as Hotch read over the transfer papers and a brief summary of Logan's history within law enforcement and then set them aside to be filed. "Very good. There's an empty desk in the bullpen you can use and we have a briefing in about a half an hour. You can meet everyone then." He stated simply as he looked at his new team member. Then he added. "Dismissed."

Logan gave a nod and headed out and back down to the bullpen. He barely got to find the empty desk before Hotch stepped out of his office, a pretty blond following close behind with her hands full of files, "BAU members, conference room, now." Logan paused half a second to see who got up…A thin awkward looking young man, a black man who looked more suited to be on a football field, a slightly aristocratic looking woman, the famed profiler David Rossi, and racing through the glass doors after them was a heavy set, brightly dressed woman in glasses. Something of a motley crew at first glance but that only peaked Agent Mercer's interest. …Where would he fit in? Would he fit in at all?

"A series of home invasion rape, murders have occurred in Boston, we've been called in on the fifth," JJ started her briefing as she moved about the room, settling files down and then grabbing the remote to turn on the display screen, "All the victims are Caucasian women with red hair aged 22 to 29, some lived with roommates or boyfriends, others lived alone." She clicked a button and the women's faces showed up along with their basic stats. "There were no signs of forced entry. All the women were beaten, raped, then strangled though there was no murder weapon found at any crime scene…nor was anything declared as missing from any of the victim's homes." Another click and crime scene photos showed up, "After their death the women were left, nude, in sexually suggestive positions in their beds and, tied to their wrists with a bit of red yarn, is a homemade tag with a certain dollar amount."

"Different amounts?" Dr Reid asked curiously.

JJ gave a nod as Rossi spoke up, "Like he's grading them."

"Or their, um, sexual prowess," Reid suggests, "You know in ancient times prostitutes in brothels were given dollar amounts according to how proficient they were at certain acts. Although, ironically, virgins were actually priced the highest, but that was more for sanitary and sentimental reasons than anything."

There was a moment of silence from the group before Hotch turned to their newest member. "What are your thoughts?"

Logan, who'd been relaxing in his chair as he listened, finally sat up some. "He's giving them the only worth he thinks they have…as a piece of meat."

"And?" Hotch pressed, making it a little more clear that, for Logan, this was something of a test…at least a preliminary one.

"And so we're looking for a misogynist that likely thinks women are whores or, at the very least, exist to service him and that they aren't worth anything unless he says they are."

Hotch gave a nod not so much in agreement but in vague approval…At least the agent knew something about an offender's mind. Then he turned his attention to the others. "Okay, team, be ready to board in 15 minutes."

Logan stayed behind watching Hotch gather the files as the others began to exit. He gave Hotch a smirk, "Did I pass?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're little test. Did I pass?"

"Not yet." Hotch said bluntly before heading out.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: First, while the original character is "mine" as much as a fictional being can be (and I thought of the case myself) nothing else in the story is. This is my first attempts at a Criminal Minds based fan-fiction piece and it's self-beta'd so, please, be kind!

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Logan was the last to get on the plane and dropped his bag by the others before looking around some and getting that sudden feeling of being the new kid on the school bus. If he was recalling the names correctly agents Morgan, Reid, and Prentiss were seated together, discussing Boston…well the young doctor was doing most of the talking about this and that historical event while the other two listened. Pretty blond JJ seemed to be hard at work preparing more information for the team while the other blond talked from the computer screen. Hotchner, or Hotch as he was apparently called, and Rossi were debating over what steps to take first and only seemed to take note of him briefly…Hotch with a slight frown and Rossi with a slight smile.

"Sit down, the plane's about to take off," Hotch stated simply before returning to his papers.

Rossi smiled a little more, "There's a free seat right across from us, just take that for now. You can get up and find a more preferable one later." The older man suggested with the friendliest voice Logan had heard so far…and even Rossi's seemed to hold more amusement at the junior agent's predicament than anything.

"Yes, sir," Logan replied simply before to sit where Rossi had suggested then went to look for a seatbelt…there were none though and so the agent simply hoped for little turbulence as they began to ascend.

"So, you come from the violent crimes division," Rossi spoke up, "that right?"

Logan turned, genuinely surprised any of them had cared to speak to him, and especially surprised it was Rossi. "Yes, sir, that's correct."

Rossi gave a slight smile, "Rossi," he corrected, then continued, "so, did you get any cases similar to what we handle here? Serial crimes and the like."

"One or two," Logan admitted as he shifted some to face the senior agent, "I was in LA until I came here and, um, we had a gang-banger turned rapist on one case and, in another, a straight up serial killer."

"And how'd those cases go?"

"Pretty well, we solved them, if that's what you mean."

"Yes and no," Rossi replied, "I meant more for you. How did you handle them?"

Logan gave a slight smirk, "I can do this job, Agent Rossi. If I couldn't I seriously doubt my unit chief would've suggested me for it and your unit chief certainly wouldn't have allowed my papers to go through."

"Thinking you can do it and doing it are two very different things," Rossi countered in a slightly less friendly manner than before.

"I'll be fine."

Rossi watched the new member of the BAU carefully, then moved to sit directly across from him on his side of the plane leaving Hotch alone with his papers. "Whether you like it or not you're on this team and need to get along with those on it."

"I know how to be a part of a team, thanks," Logan sniped, "I led one before coming here." He then got up and moved to sit alone at the back of the plane, watching his new teammates chatter and work away happily.

Rossi moved to get up and follow him but was stopped by Hotch's voice, "Let him go. It'll only agitate him further if you follow."

The famed profiler let out a sigh and moved to sit in his original seat across from Hotch, "So that doesn't bother you?"

"Of course it does, but it's unwise to argue with a man as stubborn as that at 30,000 feet with only about a half hour before we land." Hotch then gave a small smile, "You taught me that one."

--

"We didn't realize the victims were all connected until after the fourth," the police captain commented shortly after the BAU arrived and Hotch ran through the traditional greeting of the team.

Logan gave a snort, "What, you thought that most raping killers gave their victims price tags after the act?"

Hotch's eyes shot to Logan almost faster than thought and they suggested a wrath that not even God himself in Old Testament could imagine. "Mercer." There was so much he wanted to say, none of it appropriate for where they were, so Hotch was forced to settle on, "Go help Reid. Now." The junior agent simply shrugged and wandered off as Hotch quickly began to try and undo the damage done.

'So, brainiac, what's with the map?" Logan called out as he entered a small conference room (or maybe it was a large office) to find Dr Reid drawing all over a map of Boston.

"I'm trying to determine the killer's comfort zone based on the victim's he's chosen. It's likely that, for these kinds of killings, the UNSUB stuck close to home for easy escape and access to clean clothes and such," Reid explained before circling another section of the map.

"What about The Boston Strangler? The guy didn't exactly work out from a home base," Logan countered casually.

Reid paused a moment, then turned, "Well, no, but Albert DeSalvo was also not a completely organized offender…He's what we'd define as mixed, having elements of both organized and disorganized. He may have pre-planned certain crimes but much of his attack implied an in-the-moment frenzy." The youthful doctor then turned back to the map, clearly done with his conversation…the mapping of killing fields of their UNSUB was far more intriguing at the moment anyhow.

"Odds are he's Irish."

"Huh?"

"Well, look at the board, kid," Logan smirked some as he headed towards the map, grading a felt-tip marker. "The main part of the city all these attack area intersect it Southie…South Boston…which is mostly Irish." He then scribbled Southie over where Reid's drawn circles crossed on the map.

Hotch nearly stormed into the room…though with a strange form of control if that were possible, "Mercer, we need to talk. In private. Now."

Reid turned to look at Hotch but quickly moved to busy himself once more at seeing Hotch's face. The young agent had seen that face only a few occasions during his time at the BAU and knew simply to be thankful to wasn't for him and, if at all possible, scurry away.

--

Logan followed Hotch out and into a small office. "What the hell did you think you were going to accomplish with that remark to Captain O'Malley?" Hotch almost growled out.

"Opening his eyes to the fact he's a fucking moron," Logan replied, a tiny bit of annoyance seeping through in his voice. Logan was not used to being ordered, corrected, or called out. He was used to being in charge and behaving however he pleased to whomever he pleased.

"You need to understand something…"

"I don't do lectures," Logan cut Hotch off.

Hotch's eyes blazed, 'Shut up." His voice wasn't any louder but something in the tone told Logan that now was not the time to screw around. When Hotch was sure he wouldn't be interrupted again he spoke once more. "We're here at the request of local law enforcement. In order to do our jobs, to catch the criminals, we need to maintain good relations with all local authority no matter what we might think of them personally. Now you make another comment like you did ever again and I'll make you the first official desk jockey of the BAU. Do you understand me?" The look in the team leader's eyes dared Logan to say anything smug or sarcastic.

Logan straightened himself some and looked Hotch in the eyes. "I understand, sir."

"Good." And with that Hotch left his newest recruit in the small office alone with what was left of the other man's dignity.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: First, while the original character is "mine" as much as a fictional being can be (and I thought of the case myself) nothing else in the story is. This is my first attempts at a Criminal Minds based fan-fiction piece and it's self-beta'd so, please, be kind!

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Hotch stepped back into the large office as Reid started his rather excited miniature speech to the team. "Okay, so, I've used a method similar to a venn diagram in appearance to locate the UNSUB's apparent comfort zone and, well, uh…" he then suddenly seemed to lose his thought for a moment before looking around the room.

"Come on, Reid, man, don't leave us hangin'," Morgan spoke up, "fill us in."

"What's Agent Mercer doing?" Reid questioned as if he hadn't heard Morgan at all.

Hotch looked out the window and saw the agent speaking to the police captain and let out an annoyed sigh. What the hell was wrong with this guy?! It was as if the agent was going out of his way to make things harder for Hotch! "Mercer!" Hotch called out before signaling the agent to join the rest of the group.

Logan shook the now smiling police chief's hand and headed into the room where the rest of the team waited. "Sorry, I was just…"

"Reid, you were saying?" Hotch inquired completely ignoring Logan who simply gave a soft sigh and settled in a chair at the back of the room.

Prentiss gave him an almost sympathetic look as she watched…it wasn't that she didn't think the new agent deserved the treatment, he'd been behaving in an anti-social manner from moment one, but she understood his situation. She understood what it was like to be the new member, to not quite fit in and have her motives scrutinized. She gave a polite smile when Logan did before turning to Reid.

"…Southie, like Agent Mercer pointed out to me earlier, has a dense population of those with Irish descent. Couple that with the victims all having red hair and we're likely looking for someone who's Irish as well," Reid continued.

"Yeah, but couldn't that be almost anyone within that section of the city's limits?" Prentiss questioned.

Reid frowned some, "Sadly…yes." Maybe his breakthrough wasn't nearly as impressive as he'd hoped.

"Not necessarily," Rossi countered, "if this UNSUB is using these women as a outlet for his anger the woman he truly wishes to attack likely has red hair as well and red heads are in a minority even amongst the Irish populations these days."

"Either way we're still looking at a large area filled with people who, in general, don't talk to cops." Logan spoke up, "We're going to end to limit our search more, much more, if we wanna get even remotely close to stopping this guy."

The rest of the team gave him and each other rather grave looks knowing all too well that Agent Logan Mercer was right. They also knew that it was likely they'd need another victim to get a better handle on who their UNSUB was.

--

After Hotch had called it a day everyone went back to the hotel and while most shared a room Logan was again left out and to his own room. Not that Logan minded. Who'd want to share a room with some person they just met that day and probably couldn't stand to start?

He stripped down, took a shower, then headed out into the main room and began to spread his notes on the case out over the bed. He was missing something, something crucial, he just couldn't pin it down. Just when he thought he had…it was right there on the edge of his brain…there was a knock at the door. He gave a curse under his breath and nearly stormed towards the door. "What the fuck is it?" He asked before who was on the other side even registered.

"So your friendliness extends beyond work hours I see," Prentiss commented with a slight smile, determined not to let her co-worker's attitude get to her.

"Sorry it's just…" Logan shrugged, a smile forcing itself across his lips as he stepped aside, "why don't you come in?"

Prentiss gave a nod and entered the room, scanning it with seeming disinterest. "So, how do you know so much about South Boston? Did you grow up here?" She noted papers on the case strewn about his bed…Couldn't say the guy wasn't dedicated to the case at least.

"Close to," Logan replies before quickly moving to scoop up his notes and set them in the bedside table drawer, "One city over, just a train ride."

"You like to keep things close to the chest, don't you?"

He laughed some, "Maybe I just don't like nosy people?"

"And now you're part of a team whose job it is to be nosy."

"Not with each other though, Agent Prentiss," he countered, "I read the whole memorandum on inter-office profiling."

Prentiss paused, then shrugged with a nod, "Fair enough." She then smirked, "How about a free exchange of information? I'll tell you something about myself if you tell me something about you."

"A little I'll show you mine if you show me yours?" Logan asked with an arch of the brow and curl of the lips.

"Not how I'd have put it put…sure."

"Okay, well I told you I grew up around Boston, so where'd you grow up?"

"Some in DC, some in the Middle East," Prentiss answered before clarifying some, "My mother is an ambassador."

They started with basics….Logan had two older brothers, one a firefighter in New York and the other an inmate at Walpole State Prison; Prentiss was an only child. Logan liked his coffee black; Prentiss with two sugars and just a touch of cream. Prentiss had a fondness for the author Kurt Vonnegut; Logan had a classmate whose parents were friends with the man.

"You know, you really need to cut your hair," Emily blurted out suddenly as she popped another Pringle chip in her mouth where she sat in the chair opposite Logan at the small table in the room.

Logan found he actually enjoyed Prentiss some…She hadn't been pushy and had a surprisingly good sense of humor. And so, at the statement, he decided to indulge her a little, "Oh yeah? And why's that?"

"A few reasons, but mainly because you look more like someone we hunt than a team member." She gave a small laugh, "No offense or anything."

"Oh no, none taken," Logan smirked, "But I'm not about to take scissors to my own head just to appease people."

"What if I did it?"

"You're kidding, right?"

Prentiss shook her head and stood up, "Not at all." She then looked down at him a little smugly, "What's the matter? Don't trust me? Wait, don't tell, you're scared?" She knew it'd work. The youngest of three boys it was likely Logan's courage was tested over and over by his brother's as a child and Logan was not the type to back down ever.

Logan laughed some, then smirked, "I know what you're doing. You're baiting me."

"And?"

Logan laughed more as he got up, "You're on."

--

Logan ran his hand back and forth through his hair as if testing it, getting a feel for the much shorter cut, before turning to Prentiss. "Not bad, Emily."

"Glad you trusted me then?" She asked with a smile as she set the pair of scissors he'd given her on the desk.

The male agent gave a sigh, "Well you took a chance on me; I figured I ought to do the same."

"Did you trust the members of your old team?"

Logan was taken aback some by the question…and insulted, "Of course I did."

"But not right away," Prentiss stated.

"On a team you have to earn trust."

Prentiss smiled a little and nodded, "Exactly, and it's the same at the BAU." She moved closer to him, "You can't just expect the members of this team to trust you, especially if you stubbornly refuse to trust them. They'll like you, Logan, you just have to open up a little. Trust me."

Logan stayed silent for some time, then took a breath and smiled, "Thanks for the haircut." It was his way of thanking her for not just the haircut but for everything that night.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: First, while the original character is "mine" as much as a fictional being can be (and I thought of the case myself) nothing else in the story is. This is my first attempts at a Criminal Minds based fan-fiction piece and it's self-beta'd so, please, be kind!

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Logan leaned back in the chair, feet up and over the corner of the conference table, as he examined the crime scene photos stuck on the white board. He was trying to get that feeling he'd had while looking at them in the hotel room before Emily stopped by. It just wasn't coming to him though.

"Nice haircut," a slightly scratchy voice commented as the owner braced himself in the doorway of the room, arms crossed but his body language still relaxed.

Logan turned to smile at Rossi, "Thanks, Emily did it for me."

Rossi's eyebrows arched some and he smirked, "Emily, huh? So you've found someone with whom you can share a first-name basis with."

"Yeah, I guess," the junior replied with a small shrug, "I mean, so far she seems the only one that can stand me for more than two minutes."

"And the only one I'm assuming you've bothered to open up to…Why is that?"

Logan simply smiled then turned their attention over to the whiteboard, "I keep thinking I'm…I'm missing something. It's right at the back of my brain but I can't seem to figure out what it is."

Rossi accepted the topic change with a slight smile and then looked over at the board as well, "About the victims or something else?"

"Don't know." He then looked at Rossi, "Any chance we'll be able to visit any of the crime scenes or talk to witnesses today?"

"Actually that's why I'm here, it's time for some field work. You'll be riding with me, Reid, and JJ."

"Where we going?"

"Wherever Hotch says."

Logan gives a groan as he rolls his eyes, "Great, that guy'll probably have me dumpster diving or something."

Rossi laughed, "He's not that bad. Uptight, slightly controlling, and humorless but…" the senior agent shrugged, "Not that bad."

"You think you can help me get him to listen?" Logan asked as he followed the other agent.

"Depends."

"On what?"

"On what he's supposed to listen to," Rossi walked out into the sun and headed towards one of the SUVs parked out front, "And why you want him to listen."

Logan continued to follow, letting Rossi head towards the driver's side. He figured it'd be better to play the subordinate roll at the moment both to shine Rossi's ego and show Hotch he COULD be just the follower if the man was watching from the other SUV. "I want to…suggest," it sounded better than tell, "how he spilt up the teams," he answered as he got in the SUV with Rossi, "I grew up here, I know how people in Southie act and think, and I think I might be able to spilt us up to get the most cooperation from witnesses."

"I didn't know you were from around here!" Reid piped up from the backseat so suddenly Logan nearly gave a jump, "Wow, that's so amazing. I mean you virtually grew up in the city where this country was created. Have you ever been to the Adams' birthplaces or, uh, get to visit the battlefields in Lexington and Concord?"

Logan turned in his seat with a slight smirk…He was going to tease Reid some, call him a nerd, but the young agent's face was just so excited that Logan, well, couldn't. He wasn't good with authority, he was stubborn and sarcastic, but Logan wasn't a bully. He smiled a little, "Uh…yeah, I did all those things. They're sorta part of the traditional field trips we take. They're okay places but I always preferred the Salem field trip. You know, with the witch trials and the house from Hawthorne's House of Seven Gables."

Reid began to shift forward, straining against his seatbelt, "Have you ever been able to go to Salem on Halloween? I, uh…I hear that it's quite an event there. Costumes and masked balls and, um, parades in the streets and the like."

"Tell you what, we ever get to this part of the country again around Halloween and have the time you and I can take a detour into Salem," Logan offered, "then you can find out yourself."

Rossi and JJ (who was in the back with Reid) had been chuckling a little as they listened to their colleagues but at Logan's offer JJ started to laugh a little more, "Oh boy, now you've done it," she smiled at Logan, "Halloween is Reid's favorite holiday, I'm pretty sure celebrating Halloween in Salem is his ultimate fantasy." She winked at Reid to reassure him it was a good-natured teasing.

Logan paused, then smirked, "Not the typical male fantasy but," he shrugged and turned his attention back to Reid, "it is one that's a little easier to make come true."

"With some of the costumes women are known to wear on Halloween it could also satisfy the typical male fantasy," Rossi commented with a smirk of his own as he pulled up to a street curb behind the first SUV and slowed to a stop.

JJ rolled her eyes, smiling nevertheless, as she went to get out, "I'll choose to ignore that statement, thank you very much." That's what you got for riding in the car with a bunch of single guys, she guessed.

The men in the car all got out and followed JJ to their teammates waiting on the sidewalk. Once they were all together Hotch spoke, "This is the neighborhood of the last victim, the crime scene's still fresh and so are the memories of any possible witnesses…"

"Sir, I'd like to help in splitting up the team," Logan blurted out unable to stop himself, unable to wait for Rossi to grease the wheels as it were. The team looked from Hotch to him and back expectantly, wondering how this might end as the tension between the men rose a notch. "I grew up around here, I know what'll work best in getting people to talk to us." He added when Hotch said nothing.

The senior agent stayed quiet a moment longer, both to think and let his newest subordinate sweat some, before speaking, "What are your suggestions?" He might've thought Logan loud, abrasive, obnoxious, and maybe a little too sure of himself for his own good but Hotch would never turn away help on a case…especially from a colleague.

"Let Morgan and Rossi take the crime scene, JJ should talk to the family, you and Prentiss and Reid and I can take on any potential witnesses." While on a personal level Logan would've rather paired himself with Prentiss he knew, professionally, putting Hotch with a woman would more likely offset his stern, cop-like, vibe that'd get even the most helpful Southie resident to tell Hotch to go fuck himself.

Hotch gave a nod, "But I'm putting Reid with Prentiss and you and I are going to interview witnesses together." Mainly because Hotch wanted to keep an eye on Logan, especially after the stunt he'd pulled with the police chief. He then gave orders on keeping in touch and when to meet back at the SUVs…with that everyone spilt up with Hotch and Logan staying behind.

"You tryin' to keep tabs on me?" Logan asked with a slight smirk. He was a little irked that Hotch didn't seem to trust him still but, well, at least his whole idea wasn't shot down.

"A new haircut doesn't erase past behaviors," Hotch said simply before heading towards the victim's neighbor's house.

Logan gave a small laugh; he couldn't help it.

--

Logan got them in the neighbor's place with the offer to move the TV set before the game started…he also got the neighbor to talk by bonding with the older woman over a shared love of what else but the home team.

"So did you notice anything usual about Kelly's behavior in the days before she was murdered, Ms. Shea?" Hotch finally jumped in wanting to get down to business.

"Like what?" The older woman asked almost annoyed…she had yet to warm up to SSA Aaron Hotchner.

"Did she seem distracted, upset, worried," Hotch offered, "maybe a little more guarded or make mention of feeling like she might be being followed?"

When Logan saw the woman's look of slight confusion he jumped in, "We're thinkin' she mighta been followed. The person who attacked her knew she'd be home and she'd be alone." He explained, already having taken on the Bostonian accent and speech pattern he'd had back in his youth. Wanting to sound more professional he'd trained himself out of it as he grew up (he loved his hometown but he found most others viewed the Bostonian accent as low-class).

The woman laughed a little as she started to move around, setting up bowls of chips and such, "Hell, most everyone was home then, it's the playoffs and the Sox were playin'!"

Logan smiled, "And she didn't have any friends over?"

"Normally her boyfriend woulda but he got locked up awhile back."

Hotch gave a curious look, "What for?"

"Drug charges, Walpole State prison for the next five to ten which is kinda weird now that I think about cause he didn't seem the druggie type."

"What makes you say that?" Logan questioned a little surprised at her confession…they were in Southie projects, just like any other low-income housing projects drug-usage was common to say the least. …Finding out a neighbor was involved in drugs should not be at all odd.

The elder woman shrugged, "Don't know, just didn't seem the type. Guy had a steady job, seemed to treat Kelly good, and don't think he'd been in trouble before." She smiled a little at Logan, "Ya live in a neighborhood long enough ya just sorta getta feel for your neighbors. I know the difference between the folks around here that're clean and the ones that aren't. Mikey was the clean type."

Logan nodded a little, "Musta been quite a shock for Kelly then. Thinks her man's squeaky clean and suddenly she's the idiot who dated the druggie loser."

Ms. Shea shrugged a little as she grabbed a cigarette out of her box on the coffee table and then lit it from a light in her back pocket, "She tried ta act like it didn't bother her none, but I could tell it did. Sorta kept to herself a little more after he got locked up." She finally pulled the cigarette out of her mouth only to blow the smoke in Hotch's direction.

Hotch's nose wrinkled in distaste at the smoke, but otherwise he ignored it. "What about the day of the murder? Did you notice anything out of the usual? Either from Kelly's place or possibly even the neighborhood at large?"

The woman smirked some at watching Hotch's reaction (it was such a cop reaction in her opinion) before shaking her head, "Nah, sorry. But I was mostly focused on getting' ready for the game, ya know? I was having friends over to watch and everything so I wasn't paying much attention to anything but getting ready for guests and then the game itself." Ms. Shea then frowned some, "I invited her to my house ta watch the game; she turned me down. I knew she was gonna but, still, I wish she didn't."


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: First, while the original character is "mine" as much as a fictional being can be (and I thought of the case myself) nothing else in the story is. This is my first attempts at a Criminal Minds based fan-fiction piece and it's self-beta'd so, please, be kind!

----

"From what we could tell from the crime scene this guy's likely been at this for years," Morgan began to give his report to the others, "he knew enough to use gloves, a condom, and to take it all with him. He doesn't take the risk in touching anything else or staying any longer than he needs to. He's fast, furious in his attacks, but not frenzied."

"And he seems to have an understanding of forensics since he wiped down not only the body but also all the furniture he was potentially touched," Rossi picked up where Morgan left off.

Logan sat and listened or, to be more accurate, he half-listened as he worked out the start of his own personal profile of the UNSUB. "Maybe a cop?" He threw out. On his old team things moved quickly and ideas of the perpetrator were shared almost as soon as they got the case.

"It's too early to say," Hotch commented before begrudgingly adding, "But that is a possibility, yes." The thought itself had occurred to Hotch but cases always got so much more difficult when the potential the UNSUB was a cop arose.

"There's been a few repair men and such in the same neighborhoods as the victims as well," Prentiss offered, "It could be one of them or even a delivery man who's just happened to seen enough crime shows or read up on forensics."

Reid gave a thoughtful smile, "That would explain why the victims willingly opened the door and, in all our interviews with neighbors, no one heard a struggle. They're expecting this man and, by the time they realize the danger, it's too late. The women are already subdued."

"But how?" JJ posed the question before elaborating some, "I interviewed the families and each one of them said these women would've fought like hell if they could."

"A weapon of some kind maybe?" Reid suggested, his smile gone with the missing bits in his logic being pointed out.

"Or leverage," Rossi offered, "even fighters may retreat to keep family and loved ones safe and we know some of the victims lived with roommates or boyfriends."

Logan frowned, "That might work for those who lived with someone but, otherwise, if the perp's some repair or delivery guy, he's taking one of a risk in claiming he can get these girls' loved ones."

Hotch ignored the use of wrong terminology in favor of noting that the newest member of the team had a valid point, "And we already know this guy isn't about to take any unnecessary chances so, unless he did a lot of recognizance on his victims…"

"And then manipulated himself to be called to each of these women's houses by whoever he works for," Logan jumped in, "Not to mention Kelly, the last victim, would've had to believe a man she'd never met before had access to her recently arrested boyfriend."

"So it's unlikely leverage was part of the M.O.," Hotch finished, finding himself a little less annoyed by Logan's boldness this time.

--

_Cassie O'Malley set the popcorn down in front of the TV…It was the bottom of the eighth inning, Sox were down by two, but Cassie had faith like any good Red Sox fan would. When she heard the knock on the door she went to the door and looked through the peephole. She saw the Boston PD badge and sighed in annoyance, but she still opened the door a little, keeping the chain on though. "Can I help ya?"_

"_Yeah, we're lookin' for a Ms Anna Garrett, she live here?"_

"_No," Cassie replied clearly annoyed, "she moved out, like, 3 weeks ago."_

"_Mind if I come in to just check?" The cop smiled softly, trying to charm his way in, "Just so I can tell my boss I did my job."_

"_Ya gotta warrant?" Cassie challenged, never one to just back down…even if it were easier if she did. When the man made a displeased face she too that as an indication that he did not and started to laugh, "Yeah, that's what I thought. Fuckin' loser, come back when ya got some real authority being here." She went to close the door…_

_Something in the man with the badge snapped and he heaved all his weight against the door and Cassie causing the chain, already in poor repair, to become pulled from the wall. Cassie gave a scream as the player at bat hit a home run for the Sox._

--

Logan's hand fussed with his hair as its new shortness still seemed to throw him some while he considered his shot.

"Ya know, most guys would be nervous about going head-to-head with their bosses," Morgan commented almost smoothly as he waited for his opponent's decision.

Logan laughed some, "Yeah, well, I'm not most guys," he then smirked and went to line up his shot, "Five-ball, left corner pocket." He claimed before striking the cue ball causing a chain reaction that settled the five-ball in just the pocket he'd called out. He stood up, "And I'm not afraid of anyone."

Morgan gave a whistle at the impressive shot and then grinned, "And you're better at this game than you let on."

"I believe the term is pool shark," Rossi commented smoothly from where he sat, nearby, at a table with Prentiss, enjoying nacho chips and mozzarella sticks. Sadly the fact they were still on a case prevented them from ordering anything harder than an iced tea or cola.

Reid, JJ, and Hotch had been invited as well but Reid wanted to continue to review the geography of the kill sites to see if he could better analyze the UNSUB's comfort zone and determine where the man likely lived. JJ and Hotch chose to stay behind to ensure the press and local authorities were still working in cooperation with the team.

Logan laughed some as he lined up and cleared his next shot, "You should see me drunk…I'm even better." He cracked before giving Prentiss a wink.

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say," Prentiss rolled her eyes, "but I doubt you can walk a straight any better than the next person while drunk." She wasn't offended by her new teammate's wink, nor did she take it seriously. "Why is it that guys always claim to do tasks better drunk when they can barely do them well sober?"

"Such as?" Morgan questioned coolly, already having an idea as to what his colleague was planning, as he rested against the wall of the pool hall while Logan set up what would be his winning shot.

Prentiss nearly smirked in delight that Morgan had taken the bait, "Pleasuring a woman to multiple-orgasms comes to mind."

To say Logan's concentration slipped, along with his pool cue, would've been an understatement…he nearly shot the stick through the window as the eight-ball went flying off the table and under a chair some ways away. "Son of a…" Logan started to laugh some as he turned on Prentiss, "You!"

Prentiss simply smiled, "Me." She held back laughter better than her male companions did as Rossi and Morgan both seemed unable to stop themselves. Though Rossi had to force himself when his cell went off and he went to answer it, leaving the table discreetly to do so.

"You're good," Logan smirked, "but you're gonna pay." Morgan chuckled a bit more from behind him as he began to set up for the next round.

"You should probably go pick up your lost ball so Morgan can rack up and I can play the winner" Prentiss said with her smile turning more teasing before going to drink some of her iced tea.

Rossi returned to the group at a brisk pace, "No time, we have another victim that's just been found on the other side of town," he said as he threw some money down for the bill.

--

After protests that nearly turned to an argument Logan found himself back at police headquarters with Prentiss. "I'm surprised he didn't want to personally escort me back," Logan muttered as he looked out the window really wishing he were back at the scene, getting to examine the freshest case in person.

"You're taking it too personal," Prentiss stated, slightly amused by Logan's seemingly childish pout, "you said it yourself, no one knows the city better than you."

"Yeah but Reid's already here, he's got the maps and he's got, uh, Garcia, the computer whiz. Why would he even need me?"

Reid turned from his map, "Knowing the outlay and demographics of the land and knowing how an UNSUB might operate within a given location aren't always the same. I, uh, could tell you that he's hunting in low income areas but, uh, that says almost nothing about the culture of the area or how those that live there might react to a catastrophic event such as a serial killer hunting in the area."

Prentiss smiled a little to Logan, "You have to trust that Hotch is making the best decisions in order to help us in catching this guy…that his personal feelings about you aren't determining his choices and he's using your skills to their best advantage."

Logan looked at her, he listened, and he considered it all. Then he smiled some, "I gotta go the bathroom." And with that he headed out of the room at a brisk pace.

"That wasn't exactly the response I was expecting," Prentiss sighed some in frustration. Logan was about as stubborn as Hotch was stern and, unless they came to some sort of agreement on how to work together, she didn't see this case being successful…Or Logan lasting very long on the team.

Reid turned from the map to Prentiss, "Especially since, well, he didn't even ask where the lavatories are." The comment held a hint of confusion and curiosity, but the young genius was too set on his task to give it much more thought.

Prentiss, however, frowned some in thought, then more in worry. She got up from her chair and headed out to find Logan.


End file.
